Federated Charities offering low-cost space to small and emerging non-profits in Frederick

I’m pretty lucky and have been asked to be a part of the development of new organizations and non-profit initiatives at different points in the last 25 years (good thing too, because it’s also my career). There’s nothing quite like the energy of a new idea, is there? You can talk about it for hours.

If you’re a planner, like me, you start collecting physical items and intangible concepts and put them all together in one place so when everything comes together you’re ready for it. You sometimes find yourself in a conversation with someone and you watch yourself file them and their skills into a mental box somewhere…for later. You wake up early and go to bed late because you’re convinced you’re on the verge of an idea so good that it will change everything…about homelessness, hunger, education, poverty, war in Syria or any of the huge issues that we face as human beings.

If you’re also like me, you’ve worked in a lot of different kinds of offices, from the founder’s home office to plush new construction, and sometimes you’ve even gotten a new desk chair or computer. And business cards, don’t get me started on business cards because that means you’ve really arrived, right?

Ok, so the reality here is that it’s exciting, and you’re feeling energized because you’ve finally figured out what to do with your life. And a couple of early folks have pledged to support you. And then a few people agree to be on your board. And you’ve had some great program meetings with organizations in the community, and…suddenly your kitchen table (your whole house really) is covered in paperwork and you realize that it’s tough to build great, world-changing programs when your dog, your kids and your husband all keep moving things around because where the heck is the 501(c)3 narrative with budget attachment????

P.S. You’ve also started to realize that this next, great, world-changing program is hard, hard work…but that’s a different blog post that maybe Envision will invite me to write next time.

Point is, you need real office space but you don’t have a budget for it and the only place that’s offering you something for free is this creepy dark room in a building and there’s a funky smell that you can’t quite identify. Enter the Lloyd and Charlotte Hoover Charity Incubator space at Federated Charities (full disclosure: I’m the executive director of Federated Charities) launched at the beginning of this year.

Offering low-cost, flexible space to small and emerging non-profit organizations in Frederick, we are also sharing the expertise we’ve developed over more than 100 years of our existence to help groups bridge between their concept and their implementation. We have taken an underutilized portion of our building, renovated it and furnished it with a range of flexible work stations to address different work styles.

The official vision of the Hoover Charity Incubator space is to use the assets of the Federated Charities building to support the efforts of a network of emerging programs that support the well-being of residents of Frederick, MD and provide services to needy individuals and families.

Federated Charities has long known and promoted the value of collaborative space and we believe that when nonprofits can save on overhead costs, they have more resources to use for the programs and services that directly impact individuals and local communities. Tenancy in the Hoover Incubator or in a traditional 12-month lease with Federated Charities brings added value to partner programs and clients by sharing unique expertise, collaboration and maximization of resources. Federated Charities provides a visible space in the heart of downtown Frederick where organizations and the community can support these programs and their clients.

Our organization’s mission for more than 100 years has been to provide compassionate community services in Frederick and offer education and resources which support non-profits in a collaborative environment so they can better serve their local clients. It is our intention to promote this mission by providing attractive, centrally located and cost effective space for our non-profit tenant partners, whether they rent for 1 day or 12 months.

Featuring amenities like free wifi, file storage, access to our 15-seat conference room, mail delivery, monthly “office hours,” a kitchenette and a color copier, tenancy in the Hoover Incubator can be an effective way for a small non-profit organization to establish a presence in the heart of downtown Frederick.

We also weren’t planning to announce to the universe that you come to the office in your pajamas but we’ll be happy to shout out to our audience about the work you do.

Depending on which membership level you choose, the daily rate for rentals are as low as $10 per day so you can build the schedule you need to bring the next, great, world-changing program to fruition. To arrange a free day pass or get more information on office space in the incubator, please contact Federated Charities at incubate@federatedcharities.org

Author Spotlight

Elin Ross

Elin is the executive director of Federated Charities in Frederick. She has worked in the non-profit industry for more than 25 years in a variety of local, national and international organizations. She is most interested in the concept of social enterprise as a powerful alternative to traditional fundraising and how it relates to ideas of micro-economy and social change, but also bakes a mean chocolate cake and is a classically trained pastry chef. She lives in Frederick with her husband and her emotionally needy dog.